UNLV Shocks #3 Arizona, College Basketball

(Las Vegas, NV) -- Christian Wood scored a career-high 24 points to go with 10 rebounds as UNLV shocked third-ranked Arizona 71-67 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Rashad Vaughn donated 21 points for the Rebels, who improved to 8-3 on the year and 5-and-0 at home. Stanley Johnson posted 13 points and 13 boards for the Wildcats, but had seven turnovers including a costly one in the final seconds. T.J. McConnell chipped in with 14 points for U-of-A, which fell to 12-1.

EIU Edges Cleveland State

CLEVELAND - Chris Olivier scored the final five points for Eastern Illinois as a late 10-0 run gave the Panthers a 67-65 road win at Cleveland State on Tuesday afternoon.  It was the third straight win for EIU and second straight on the road.

EIU improved to 6-6 on the year and will open Ohio Valley Conference play on January 1 against Tennessee Tech at 3:15 p.m.  CSU fell to 6-7 on the year.

The Panthers took a five point lead with just over four minutes to play as they finished off a 10-0 run that put EIU up 62-57.  Josh Piper hit his third 3-pointer of the day to put the Panthers up with 3:52 to play.

Cleveland State tied the game at 63-63 with 1:37 to play as Trey Lewis scored five straight points for the Vikings with a 3-pointer and lay-up.

Olivier anwered with a jumper as Andre Yates tied it for CSU with 50 seconds to play on a lay-up.  Olivier then hit what proved to be the game winner with 28 seconds left to play.  EIU was able to make two defensive stands to close out the game.  Olivier was one of two EIU players with 12 points.  Trae Anderson also had 12.

The Vikings shot 50 percent in the opening half to lead 36-35 at the break.  Charlie Lee and Lewis combined to hit 8-of-11 3-pointers on the afternoon as Lee had 15 points and Lewis 13.  CSU cooled off slightly in the second half shooting 48 percent for the game.

(4) Louisville 80, CS-Northridge 55

Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Wayne Blackshear stepped up in Montrezl Harrell's absence and scored a career-high 31 points to help No. 4 Louisville take down Cal State-Northridge, 80-55, in its final tune-up before Saturday's showdown with Kentucky. Blackshear was given a larger role on Tuesday with Harrell, a preseason All- American, serving a one-game suspension and the senior delivered in a big way. Blackshear shot 11-for-17 from the floor, made six 3-pointers and pulled down six rebounds. Terry Rozier added 16 points for the Cardinals (11-0), who will look to stay unbeaten when they host No. 1 Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center this weekend. Stephen Maxwell and Stephan Hicks posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, for Northridge (3-10).

(7) Villanova 92, NJIT 67

Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dylan Ennis led six players in double figures with 17 points, as No. 7 Villanova subdued NJIT by a 92-67 count at the Pavilion in a game which was much closer than the score indicated -- or the matchup might suggest -- for quite some time. Ryan Arcidiacono added 16 for the Wildcats (12-0), who trailed by as many as seven early in the second half but who used a surge shortly thereafter which ultimately led them to victory. Phil Booth contributed 14 points and Daniel Ochefu picked up 13 points with 10 rebounds for Villanova, which hadn't won 12 games to begin a season since 1961-62. Damon Lynn provided 13 points for the Highlanders (5-8), who fell short in their bid for a second shocking road victory against a ranked opponent this year. Tim Coleman poured in 12 and Winfield Willis had 10 before fouling out.

Stanford 74, (9) Texas 71 (OT)

Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Brown scored a season-high 25 points, including the go-ahead layup with 1:08 remaining in overtime, as Stanford upset No. 9 Texas 74-71 at the Erwin Center. Chasson Randle added 22 points and combined with Brown to go 7-of-12 from 3- point range to help the Cardinal snap a 15-game win streak for the Longhorns on their home court. Stanford (7-3) shot 43.3 percent from the field, the highest percentage by any Texas opponent this season, and received a career-best 14 rebounds from freshman Reid Travis to earn their first true road win in 2013-14. Javan Felix finished with 19 points for Texas (10-2), but missed a contested 3-point try with time winding down in overtime that sealed the outcome. Jonathan Holmes and Kendal Yancy each had 14 points in the loss.

(11) Wichita State 80, Hawaii 79 (OT)

Honolulu, HI (SportsNetwork.com) - Rashard Kelly scored a career-high 12 points and sent Wichita State into the finals of the Diamond Head Classic with a tip-in late in overtime. Ron Baker scored 17 points, Fred VanVleet had 13 and the 11th-ranked Shockers survived a scare from Hawaii in Tuesday's semifinals, edging the host Rainbow Warriors 80-79. Wichita State trailed by three with a minute remaining in the extra session. Darius Carter made 1-of-2 from the foul line and VanVleet hit from deep, giving the Shockers a one-point lead. Roderick Bobbitt then slashed to the rim and dropped off to Michael Thomas, who restored Hawaii's lead with a layup. But out of a timeout, Kelly played the role of hero for the Shockers. VanVleet put up a triple from the right wing, and Kelly timed his offensive rebound perfectly and got his tip to fall with 3.8 seconds showing. Out of timeouts, Bobbitt pushed the ball and found Thomas, whose off-balanced jumper missed as time expired. Wichita State (10-1) will meet George Washington in the finals.

(14) Utah 80, South Dakota State 66

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Brekkott Chapman had 22 points, Delon Wright scored 17 and No. 14 Utah beat South Dakota State 80-66 on Tuesday. Dakarai Tucker added 11 points for the Utes (9-2), who have won two in a row since falling to No. 10 Kansas two Saturdays ago. Cody Larson scored 13 points and Reed Tellinghuisen chipped in 12 to lead the Jackrabbits (9-4), who had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
 

Tuesday, December 23 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

UNLV Rebels 71, #3 Arizona Wildcats 67

#4 Louisville Cardinals 80, Cal State Northridge Matadors 55

#7 Villanova Wildcats 92, N.J.I.T. Highlanders 67

Stanford Cardinal 74, #9 Texas Longhorns 71  (OT)

#14 Utah Utes 80, South Dakota State Jackrabbits 66

Wednesday, December 24 Schedule

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

No Games Scheduled